Mies + Venturi. Modern in plan and “post” in elevation, Postmodern Café is a divertissement, a quest between Mies Van Der Rohe and Robert Venturi.

Archetypes. Like huge frescoes, the façades recall the Pre-Modern bond between Painting and Architecture. Vinyl graffiti refigure archetypal themes of Tympanum and Arc: the first – seen from Exhibition Road – features two contrapositive triangles in a Suprematistic broken tympanum. The second – diagonally perceived from the gate of the V&A – paints a stretched arc framing a shard of the neoclassical wall behind, counterpointing two existing enlarged columns.

Symmetry and negation. Although symmetrical, they are perceived from diagonal points of view. The front view seems to be denied by the pathway.

Inflection. On the walls, figures converge toward the centre. Though symmetrical overall, each side is unequal.

Stripes. Crossing the space, there are stripes everywhere, evoking ephemeral structure on a shoreline and retroactive presages close to Giò Ponti and Postmodernism: Art is fluid. Although categorized, it escapes boundaries.